Fulfill Your Promise To God
After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD at Shiloh.
When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there. I Samuel 1:24-28
When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, "Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there. I Samuel 1:24-28
Hannah made a promise to God when she was desolate and needy. Her promise was: "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life . . . " God was faithful and blessed her with a son. Hannah kept her promise to God and gave Samuel back to God as a servant.
It is interesting that Hannah had no guarantee that she was going to have any more children. She could have rationalized her situation in several ways and kept Samuel at home. In the worst-case scenario, she could have kept Samuel at home for several years before releasing him to God. But Hannah did not do that. Hannah took Samuel to the temple as soon as he was weaned and Samuel became a mighty prophet of God.
Many times, we make promises to God when we need a blessing from Him. Like Hannah, we come to the altar, pour out our souls to God and make promises to Him. But almost as soon as we receive the blessings, we start rationalizing why we cannot fulfill our promises. We become very comfortable over time as we ignore what we have promised to God. Life goes on as usual!
But the Bible says: "When you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to Him. It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it . . . . don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and He might wipe out everything you have achieved. Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead" (Eccl. 5:4-7 NLT).
Our God is holy and mighty. He cannot be taken for granted or mocked. May the Lord help us to fulfill every promise we have made to Him so that He can continue to prosper us.
It is interesting that Hannah had no guarantee that she was going to have any more children. She could have rationalized her situation in several ways and kept Samuel at home. In the worst-case scenario, she could have kept Samuel at home for several years before releasing him to God. But Hannah did not do that. Hannah took Samuel to the temple as soon as he was weaned and Samuel became a mighty prophet of God.
Many times, we make promises to God when we need a blessing from Him. Like Hannah, we come to the altar, pour out our souls to God and make promises to Him. But almost as soon as we receive the blessings, we start rationalizing why we cannot fulfill our promises. We become very comfortable over time as we ignore what we have promised to God. Life goes on as usual!
But the Bible says: "When you make a promise to God, don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to Him. It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it . . . . don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and He might wipe out everything you have achieved. Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead" (Eccl. 5:4-7 NLT).
Our God is holy and mighty. He cannot be taken for granted or mocked. May the Lord help us to fulfill every promise we have made to Him so that He can continue to prosper us.
Prayer: Lord, I ask to be forgiven of every sin that I have committed by way of unfulfilled promises to you. Please help me to faithfully undertake all that I promise to do for you. Amen.